This invention relates to a method for developing or providing an electronic course for instruction of students via an electronic communications network.
Electronic courses may be provided to students via an electronic communications network, such as the Internet or a public switched telephone network. Electronic courses offer the advantage of reducing or eliminating the cost of infrastructure (e.g., maintaining buildings and real estate) that is necessary to support a traditional school or university. Many obstacles can impede the effective delivery of an electronic course, including a protracted duration of course development, the failure to maintain student interest, the lack of student interaction, and comprehension difficulties associated with an electronic medium.
The cost of developing an electronic course depends upon the duration of the course development process and the amount of resources (e.g., people) assigned. During the course development process, experts, professors and other scholars may act as consultants. If the course development process exceeds a critical duration, consultant fees may curtail the economic viability of the electronic course. Further, the electronic course may not be available to students until after the development process, which may have a negative impact on income for a virtual school. Thus, a need exists for developing an electronic course in a limited amount of time that adequately meets economic constraints.
A traditional classroom offers students and an instructor a forum for exchanging ideas. During the delivery of an electronic course, a lack of interaction or collaboration with other students may form an obstacle to learning. Thus, a need exists for supporting interaction, collaboration and exchange among students and the instructor in the virtual classroom or in the delivery of an electronic course.
In the context of preparing a traditional scholastic course, a professor may work in conjunction with a editor to produce a textbook. The textbook may contain errors, ambiguities or examples that are not tailored to the students because of the professor""s high level of expertise, among other factors. A publisher may allocate limited editing resources to the textbook. Any deficiency in the allocation of editing resources contributes to errors and inconsistencies in the textbook. Thus, a need exists to reduce the cost of course development and to enhance the integrity of an electronic course in comparison to traditional courses based on textbooks and physical classrooms.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a method for providing or developing an electronic course facilitates a reduction of the length of course development time, enhanced student interactions with others, and electronic course materials with integrity equal to or superior to that of traditional textbooks. The method of the invention includes describing an illustrative scenario for an electronically deliverable course. At least one possible role assignment for a corresponding student of the course is defined based on the illustrative scenario. A task or problem is provided for the student based on the role assignment and the scenario. A guidance system is established which is accessible to the student over the electronic communications network. The guidance system provides guidance to the student for solving the task or the problem.
In accordance with second aspect of the invention, a method for developing an electronic course facilitates a reduction in time for development of the course. The method organizes an electronically deliverable course into a group of modules of different subject matters related to a common topic of the course. At least two of the modules are simultaneously developed for the course. A test subject, who is representative of a student of the course, reviews an electronic presentation of at least one of the developed modules prior to placing the course on the electronic communications network for access to students of the course.
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a method for developing an electronic course integrates strategic learning elements into the electronic course to enhance the learning environment of students. A scope of subject matter is defined for at least one course. An organizational structure is established for the at least one course based on the defined scope. A strategic learning element is associated with the organizational structure. The strategic learning element is expressible as reference data. The organizational structure and the strategic learning element are presented to students in an interactive manner consistent with an instruction-student interaction model.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, a method for developing an electronic course assembles elements in a predefined order to minimize or reduce the development time for developing a course. Elements of a course are designed. A greater-resource element is built prior to a lesser-resource element of the course. The greater-resource element and the lesser-resource element are assembled into a course component of the course. The course component of the electronic course is tested and adapted for association with a storage device of a central data processor.